Apparatus for turning in toe and heel caps for footwear



, Feb. 16, 1937.

K. MAYER APPARATUS FOR TURNING IN TOEAND HEEL CAP'S FOR FOOTWEAR FiledAug. 31, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l 6 1 my A 9 1 8 9 2 2 3 1 @I 2 ll r 2 l IIIIIWJ/ n e mmfli N\ I 5 1 Q O M l m mm 0 Wm aw i; o 2 w o MOH O. M

Feb. 16,1937. v MAYER 1 2,071,271

APPARATUS FOR TURNING IN TOE AND HEEL CAPS FOR FOOTWEAR Filed Aug. 51,1935 I T 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 16, 1937 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUSFOR TURNING IN TOE AND HEEL CAPS FOR FOOTWEAR Karl Mayer, Landau/Pfalz,Germany Application August 31, 1935, Serial No. 38,848 In Germany July12, 1935 3 Claims.

Heretoiore, the turning-in of toe and heel caps in footwear has usuallybeen performed by drawing the upper leather over the last and placing itin a turning-over or lasting machine, drawing 5 the leather projectingbeyond the last, over the insole on the last, by means of the wipers andthen attaching the turned-over portion to the insole by means of anadhesive and tacks, or the like.

In so doing, however, the inconvenience often arises that in turning-inthe upper leather on the last, or on the insole laid thereon, creasesare formed, in the upper leather, which can then be removed only withdifiiculty, if at all.

The present process obviates this inconvenience. Whilst the turning-inis performed in the known manner, the edge of the upper leatherprojecting beyond the last is folded back over the wipers, before theyare moved away over the edge of the last, and said edge is then fixed inthat position on the wipers by a special presser. On closing the wipersthe said presser is then gradually lifted in accordance with the advanceof the wipers, so that the edge of the upper leather 5 projecting beyondthe last and lying on the wipers is only gradually released and turnedover on to the insole. Since, with this method of working there is nosurplus leather in advance of the wipers, but only just so much of theupper as is continuously turned over and ironed down on the insole bythe wipers, creases cannot occur.

A typical embodiment of the apparatus suitable for carrying out theprocess is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure l isa plan of a bed lasting machine with a presser according to theinvention; Figure 2 shows the presser in perspective and on a largerscale; Figure 3 is a section on a larger scale on the line A-B Figure 1,and represents the moulding of the edge of the upper leather in theGoodyear process; Figure 3a is a fragmentary sectional View and showsthe creaseless application, according to the invention, of the edge ofthe upper leather to the edge and lip of the insole; Figure 4 shows, ona still larger scale, the same section when the McKay process isemployed, and

Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4 showing the process applied tothe manufacture of stitch down shoes.

Any bed lasting machine can be used for carrying out the process.According to the invention, a machine of this kind M, however, isprovided above the wipers I, and above their guide plate 2, with arockable presser 3, which presser con- 55 sists of a bell-crank lever 6,adapted to pivot at 4 and 5 and carrying on its rear end two cheekpieceholders I and 8, on which are mounted two cheekpieces I I and I2 adaptedto pivot on screwbolts 9 and I0. Each of the said holders 1 and 8 has alongitudinal slot I3, so that their relative spacing can be adjusted,and they can be secured in the desired position by means of a clampingnut I4 on a screw.

In carrying out the process, the shoe I5 drawn over the last in theusual manner is placed in the machine M, whereupon the said wipers I areclosed so as to grip the upper leather firmly. The foremost tack is thentaken out and the edge I6 of the upper Il, projecting beyond the last isturned back over the wipers (Figures 3 and 4) and held in that positionby the said presser 3 by the pressure of the cheekpieces II or IE on theoverturned edge of the upper leather.

The wipers are next closed in further, and the presser is graduallylifted in accordance with the advance of the wipers, so that the edge ofthe upper leather, lying on the wipers, is gradually turned over andpressed on to the insole I8. At this time, the edge of the upper leathercan be secured to the insole, in known manner either by driving intacks, or by the previous application of an adhesive to the insole, orthe inner side of the upper leather.

According to the process set out in the specification of my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 38,847 filed August 31, 1935, the upper leathercan also be attached to the insole by the application of heat. When sucha cap stiffening is employed as that described in the saidspecification, that is to say, one of felt, impregnated with a mixtureof nitrocellulose and artificial resin, then, because such a steamed capis extremely adhesive and absorbs only a small amount of solvent, saidsolvent can be expelled, during the bed lasting operation, byevaporation, so that the said operation is accompanied by an intimatecementing and union of the upper leather and the insole, without needfor any further means of attachment or for coating the insole withadhesive.

Further, to enable this process to be carried out according to theinvention the machine M is also provided below the wipers I, with anozzle l9, through which a current of hot air, supplied from any sourceby way of the flexible tube 20, may be directed against the wipers. Thishot air heats the wipers in such a manner that, by their heat, after theupper leather and insole have been as-- sembled, the solvent, which wasabsorbed by the cap stiffening, is volatilized from the joint out ofwhich the impregnating medium of the cap stiffening penetrated to theinsole during the pressing operation, the desired union of the insoleand upper leather being thus obtained, by adhesion, without the need forany further adhesive or tacks. At the same time, the cap itself, andespecially the impressed edge is adequately hardened, so that the shoe,thus treated in accordance with the invention, can be put through thefurther working treatment at once. Of course, if a firmer union bedesired, use may also be made of insoles, the edges of which have beencoated with an adhesive. A particular result also obtained is that, inthe case of the Goodyear process, the secured edge of the upper leatherlies, at a perfectly sharp angle and without creasing, in the spaceformed between the edge and lip of the insole (Figure 3a).

Instead of the wipers being heated by a current of hot air, they may ofcourse, be heated in other ways, for example, be raised to the desiredtemperature by electrical means.

To prevent the insole from becoming detached from the wipers during theturning-in of the upper leather, an insole holder can also be provided,for example, either on the cheek-piece holders 1 and 8 of the presser 3,or on some other part of the machine. These insole holders may consist,for example, of a metal plate 22 (Figures 2 and 4) carrying a pin 23,which passes through a bore 24 in a crosshead 25, which is attached tothe holders 1 and 8 by means of two screw clamps 26. A coiled spring 21is also provided, between the crosshead 25 and the metal plate 22.

When, as already mentioned, the presser is pressed against the edge ofthe upper leather, the spring-pressed metal plate 22, which projectsslightly downwards beyond the cheekpieces II and I2 encounters theinsole and presses it firmly against the last. If, on the other hand,the presser be lifted gradually in accordance with the forward movementof the wipers, the metal plate 22, which is slidable in the bore 23,will, nevertheless, bear firmly against the tip of the insole until thewipers are closed and the presser can now be withdrawn completely.

When the spacing of the holders 7 and 8 is modified in order to adaptthem to the size of the last which is used, the screw clamps 26 areloosened, and tightened up again after the cheekpiece holders have beenadjusted suitably.

Instead of using a one-piece plate 22, a plate comprising two or moreparts can be used, adapted to close together by the movement of thewipers so as to avoid the latter.

The described improvement can be employed in the production of all kindsof footwear, for moulding and fixing both toe and heel caps, and also inthe manufacture of stitch down shoes. In the former case the wipers areapplied to the upper leather slightly below the upper edge of the last,the edge of the upper being then turned over on the wipers, and thecheeks II and I2 pressed against the edge of the upper. The wipers arethen lifted, sliding along the upper, the cheeks again releasing only somuch of the leather as corresponds with the upward movement of thewipers. After the wipers have reached the upper rim of the last (Figure5) the cheeks are lifted, whereupon the insole or sole 28, the edge ofwhich is coated with an adhesive, is applied to the edge of the upper29, lying on the wipers I, and the cheeks H and I2 are again lowered andsubjected to pressure, thereby producing the desired union between theupper and the sole. In operating in this manner, the use of anystitching, staples and tacks for attaching the upper and sole togetherbecomes superfluous.

I claim:

1. In a bed lasting machine, wipers, a presser arranged above the wipersand comprising a pivoted lever, the rear end of which carries tworelatively adjustable cheekpiece holders with pivotally mountedcheekpieces and means for press- 3 ing said cheekpieces against the edgeof the upper leather during the fixing of the upper.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and a holder for the tip of theinsole, said holder comprising a presser plate provided with a guidepin, a crosshead adjustably attached to the cheekpiece holders, andmeans for yieldingly mounting the guide pin on said crosshead.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and means for heating the edges of theupper leather upon being wiped into final position.

KARL MAYER.

